PROJECTS

That goon Herbert has taken part in various collaborative projects with other artists, these include

Book Of the North (BON)

A project for CD-ROM, edited by Herbert and co-ordinated by New Writing North, with technical support from Andy Armstrong at Tagish. This involved five artists, five prose writers, and five poets, took a year to get going, and is still enduring the agonies of completion. Outdated glimpses of it can be obtained at the BON website.

Time Prints

This is a stained glass piece by the artist Bridget Jones which is now part of the Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Information Centre in Dumfries. He's worked with Bridget before on a proposal for the National Glass Centre in Sunderland (shortlisted but not commissioned), which became a virtual spiral staircase in BON; and on a pane which did make it in to the Glass Centre.

Four Seasons in Woodland

With composer Keith Morris, an extended musical piece for choir, brass band, street band, octet, two singers and poet. Premiered at the Caedmon Hall, Gateshead in December 1996; other performances include the 1997 Durham Literary Festival. This celebrated a series of four sculptures by artists Graciela Ainsworth, Alberto Carneiro, Maurice O'Connell and Laurent Reynes.

Skylines

This project was organised by Cumbria Arts in Education, and involved two poets, two sculptors, and pupils from fourteen schools across the Lake District. The participants were Herbert, calligrapher John Neilson, and pupils from primary and secondary schools across the north of Cumbria; and poet Graham Mort and the sculptor Graciela Ainsworth, together with seven schools from the south of the Lake District. Their work resulted in some fourteen sculptures being placed in Brockhole National Park on the shores of Lake Windermere. It also led to the world's tallest book, an anthology of poems which made it into the Guinness Book of Records.

On your Nerve

(The cast in an elervator: left to right, David, Schmucko, Donny)

A collaboration with Glasgow poets David Kinloch and Donny O'Rourke, a dramatic performance piece about New York poet Frank O'Hara. Premiered in Durham for Colpitts Poets, also performed at Hexham's Queens Hall, Glasgow School of Art, the 1997 Glasgow Mayfest at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, and even as part of Buxton's Fringe Film Festival. A version of it was published by Verse Magazine.

Cross-Cuts

A South Bank Centre initiative to produce poem-films for Poetry International at the Royal Festival Hall (December 1996).The resulting film, Citizen Babel was a collaboration with film-maker Anton Hecht and the pupils of Berwick County High School.

Rising Sun

A sculpture trail at the Rising Sun Country Park, near Wallsend, North Tyneside. Based around a legend for the park, built up from poetry and story-telling.

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